Event DescriptionCapturing the Power of the Spirit World: Ritual Objects from Northeast Papua New Guinea July 29 - October 22, 2017Study Gallery

Papua New Guinea occupies the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and is home to a rich and diverse artistic tradition that includes sculpture, masks, dance ornaments, bark cloth, utensils, and vessels. Many of these objects are used ritualistically in great feasts, exchanges, and dance performances to capture and maintain spiritual power.

Capturing the Power of the Spirit World: Ritual Objects from Northeast Papua New Guinea features a number of objects collected by anthropologist David Eisler in Papua New Guinea in the early 1970s and gifted by him to the Hallie Ford Museum of Art in 2014.

As a special feature, Eisler will give an illustrated lecture on the concept of spiritual power in the art and culture of Papua New Guinea on September 7. Admission to the lecture is complimentary.